Favorite or Must-Do Things for Young Children?

[henrylovespooh]

I would greatly appreciate suggestions from DIS parents about things their young kids loved to do at any of the parks or restaurants - either special things or regular rides or things that had particular appeal. I've gone to WDW as a single adult many times (and with the kids once before when they were very young and didn't do much) but this trip the kids will be 3 1/2 and 2 1/2 and know the characters and will be much more into it. I worry that in my planning, I'm missing things that the kids might like because I haven't done them before.

I've got some character meal PS's and I've read about going to Tinkerbell's Treasures first thing in the morning to wake up Tinkerbell but I know there must be more. For example, is Ariel's Grotto worth taking them to?

Thanks for any ideas.

 

[jl3614]

There are a lot of things - I'm sure people will offer suggestions.

With kids that age the number one - do not miss attraction is Dumbo. Basically they will want to see everything in Fantasy Land section of MK, but the absolute do not miss for most is Dumbo, followed by Winnie the Pooh.

Have a fun trip.

 

[tjkraz]

On our last trip, DS was 3.5 and DD was 1.5. We probably spent 50% of our park time either doing the character meet/greets or at the playgrounds. Both kids loved The Boneyard.

DS liked the typical "boy" things--Star Tours...Space Ranger Spin...Backlot Tour (canyon)...Star Tours...Splash Mountain...did I mention Star Tours?

DD just kinda went with the flow.

 

[DisneyPhD]

Oh so many I can't list them all.

Hit FL 1st if you have kids, it fills up fast and you don't want to wait with young ones.

Ariel's Grotto is wonderful if your kids like Ariel. Do it before the wait the line gets too long in the morning. Heads up, it doesn't always open when FL does. It can depend on how warm or cold it is. If it is chilly, Areil has to stay inside (those shells don't hold much heat.) The play area there is great. We spent a good 40 min there just running around. Also the play area's in Toon Town.

Tom Saywer Island is a great place to fun and play, also when members ride BTM or SM there is a play area near the end of SM.

 

[Disney Ag]

Some of my girls (6&3) favorite things are at the Studios. Playhouse Disney is a must. And because they are such Toy Story Fans we waited in line for Buzz and Woody and Jessie. As a matter of fact they really enjoied seeing all the characters from their movies (TS, Monsters Inc, etc). And we also swam with all the Nemo firends at a photo shop at the Studios. They loved the picture!

 

[rileyroosmom]

My 3 year old dd loved the characters, from afar. Stood on many lines to meet the character and when it was her turn, backed out so be prepared for that possibility.
She loved Dumbo, Magic Carpet Ride, Cinderella's Carousel, Figment (Epcot), Living Seas (Epcot) Play House Disney (Mgm) Little Mermaid SHow (MGM) Beauty and the Beast Show (MGM) the playground in MK with Donald Duck (can't remember the name) riding the monorail and the train in MK. She really loved the statues of the princesses and minnie and mickey scattered around DTD. But, her most favorite thing of all......swimming in the resort pool (WL)!! Just kept asking if we could go back to the pool. All that money, we could of gone to the hotel up the road from our house so she could swim!!
Even so, we've just booked another trip for May and she has informed me all she wants to do is swim!!! Unbelieveable

 

[tikkipoo]

FYI...RUN to Dumbo first thing when they open the gates, or you'll be in line forever! Another thing that my daughter loved was the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground at MGM. She thought it was SO COOL.
But, of course, swimming at the resort was one of her favorite things.

 

[ErinInCT]

They may like getting autographs from the characters, pin trading, penny presses.
Riding up front with the pilot on the monorail ( just ask the CM).
Parades & fireworks.

 

[timandlesley]

We went last summer when our kids were 6 months and 3. The favorites were:

MK: Aladdin's magic carpet ride, Pirates of the Carribbean, Buzz Light Year Ride, Peter Pan, Pooh's Honey Pots. Those are all musts in my book. Of course we went through Minnie and Mickey's house as well, they loved that. The little playground in front of their house for little one's was a great place for them to peacefully play, we had it to ourselves believe it or not. Spectromagic was an awesome parade. Disney's Philarmagic our 3 year old LOVEd, we did this twice.
AK: Lion King Show, Kilamanjaro Safari's
MGM (our favorite) PlayHouse Disney Show (we did this twice) Muppet Vision 3D, the Little Mermaid show (3 year old loved it, 6 month old cried when it rained), Stars and Motor Cars Parade.
Epcot : Looking forward to this year, it thunderstormed on our day there last year and all we could do was the Garden Grill character meal and Illuminations, which were great but are looking forward to new adventures there this year. Thanks for this thread I'll be looking at others ideas too.
Lesley

 

[henrylovespooh]

Thanks, everyone for your ideas. I knew we'd be spending lots of time at MK but now I'll budget more time for MGM too.

 

[HappyMommy2]

My 3-year-old rode Goofy's Barnstormer probably 15 times during our trip! We would go in the late evening or when Toontown first opened and there was rarely a wait (this was in August) so DH and DS would just ride over and over.

 

[Leota]

My DS loved Character Meals, Donald's Boat, Honey I Shrunk playground, Universe of Energy, swimming, Dumbo, water mice.....

Now he's grown to a young man & we are getting ready to take my Step-Grandchildren so I get to do all those little things again. I can't wait to see their faces!

 

[3lilprincesses]

My girls -- 2, 4, and 7 at the time LOVED THE TEACUPS, Mickeys Philharmagic, riding the monorail, Chef Mickey and Crystal Palace, Tom Sawyer Island, Haunted Mansion, did I mention THE TEACUPS? So much to do, so little time to do it! Have a GREAT trip!

 

[swilphil]

My kids, ages 2 and 4, love Epcot's World Showcase. It's a nice place to go and just let them explore without having to wait in line. They love doing the Kidcot Stations in each country where they color a mask and get a stamp. In Germany, there's miniature train village with a bridge they can run back and forth on. In UK, there's a hedge maze that they can run through, and in the Toy Shoppe there's a Thomas the Train table. (Can you tell they like trains and running?) There's a place to play African drums in the Outpost (I think that's what it's called.)

 

[liveforthemagic]

I ran across Alice in Wonderland Tea Party--held M - F at Grand Flori. Its $28/child. I know the kids have to be potty trained--and it goes from 1:30 to 2:30, not really publicized too much on disney websites or even some books. Its just for kids--mom and dad stay outside for an hour. They have lunch with Alice and the characters, make cup cakes, it sounds absolutely precious.

 

[dlaushey]

If they are into Finding Nemo the Turtle Talk with Crush is a great show - at The Living Seas in EPCOT.

 

[beachwarmer]

There is a little play area near the exit of Splash Mountain. While my husband and I alternated riding splash mountain my daughter played here and was very happy. It is a nice shaded area with things to climb through, but small.(I think it is themed like a log cabin but don't remember) I never noticed it on any of my other visits. It takes a one year old to find these things.

 

[cthetulips]

I have to laugh as I say this, but asking our children (DS6 and DS4) after our first trip, "What was your favorite thing at WDW," the reply was, of course, "playing in the sand".
(We had stayed at the Contemporary and the kids played in the pool and sand on a non-park day).

Now, aged 10 and 8 the answers are Buzz, TTA, Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, Test Track, riding the monorail, character meals, and the SAND AND POOL AT THE HOTEL.

 

[ccgegg]

I think you can do MGM in one day with kids that age. The Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground is fun for that age. Allow a good 2 days for MK and maybe even 2 for Epcot if you do the mask at the kidcot stations (there are about 13-14 countries). What we really liked about Epcot's World Showcase was the relaxing feel it had walking from country to country. Didn't seem as chaotic as the other parks, just a much slower pace to it. Of course, maybe going in Feb had something to do with that.